The Guru is not needed in pursuit of truth because the truth has to be ascertained by seeker himself.+

The Guru is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and Guru is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known.

A Guru is needed in the religious and the yogic path.  There is no need for a Guru to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The Guru who pretends to be Self- realized and plays with the emotions and sentiments of the seekers is a fraud, not a Gnani.

All the Guru Parampara is for the religious people.  There is no need for a Guru who wants to tread the path of wisdom.

Even Swami Vivekananda was Ramakrishna Paramahansa's disciple.  Swami Vivekananda himself said: ~   “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher, but your own Soul.”

There are two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know the ultimate truth or Brahman.  

The Guru and Guru paramparas are meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, there is no need to follow any parampara and follow any Guru those who wish to realize the truth which is beyond the form, time, and space. We should not mix religion with spirituality because religion is based on the ego and spirituality is based on the Soul, the Self.   

Religion is concerned with its paramparas, not truth whereas spirituality is concerned only with the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. Religion is not spirituality. paramparas are meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, there is no need to follow any parampara and follow any Guru those who wish to realize the truth which is beyond the form, time, and space. 

We should not mix religion with spirituality because religion is based on the ego and spirituality is based on the Soul.   Religion is concerned with its paramparas, not the truth, whereas spirituality is concerned only with the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. Religion is not spirituality.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." (Select Works of Sage  Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad)

Thus, the above passage proves that all those who were the sanyasin robes are wearing it for the sake of bread belongs to the religion; they are nothing to do with the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. There is no need to criticize and condemn the Gurus, yogis, and swamis because they are needed for the welfare of the ignorant populace in the dualistic world.

Sage Sankara in Viveka Chudamani (2), states that the Knower of the Atman (i.e., a Gnani) "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

It means the Gurus, Swamis, and Yogis who identify themselves as holy people are not Gnanis.

 Those who are seeking the truth need not follow any Guru or any teaching. The one who thinks of himself as a Guru and the one who thinks of himself as a Chela (disciple) will not be able to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because both of them accepted themselves as the body. And all their understanding, practices, knowledge are based on the false self (ego or you).  Therefore, the Guru –Shisya concept is a great obstacle in the pursuit of truth.  A Gnani never accepts himself as a Guru or accepted anyone as his disciple, because he was fully immersed in his true Self, which is formless consciousness. There was no division in his consciousness, even though he was in the midst of division or duality.   

The Guru is not needed in pursuit of truth because the truth has to be ascertained by the seeker himself. Advaitic or Nondual Wisdom will not rise from intellectual spoon-feeding, but it arises only from deeper self-search to the sincere and serious seeker who has an intense urge to know the ultimate truth or Brahman.    The guidance comes from within because the Guru is within. People think Self is the body, they think their Guru also has the body and the Guru would do something tangible to them. 

People who are stuck with branded Masters and Guru and take their Guru’s word as final without verifying the validity of their Guru’s teaching.  They are stuck with their egocentric intellectuality, which is the greatest hindrance in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

A Guru who speaks of knowing Brahman within the body is thinking only of his head or heart, i.e. of his body. He is hallucinating.  There is no need to condemn the Gurus, but the seeker needs to realize Gurus are needed in the yogic path, but  Guru is not needed in the pursuit of truth.  

Many people are struck with awe or reverence at the outer indications of renunciation, and thus blindly accept a religious Guru or Godman to be a Gnani. The two have no connection. Because he has no wife, no family, and no possessions" they think the man who has merely repressed these desires as though these things had anything to do with the wisdom he is a religious man. People are quite incompetent to judge who is a Gnani between Godmen, intellectuals, and yogis. A Gnani is neither Godmen, nor a yogi, nor an intellectual.

The man who speaks about religious God, the religious rituals, and religion, is not a Gnani. A yogi who speaks about yoga is not a Gnani. A Godman who indulges in miracles is not a Gnani. An intellectual who argues on his own speculated theories is not a Gnani. A Gnani is the one who shares knowledge and guides people towards the source of the mind (physical existence) is real Gnani. A Gnani never claims himself a Guru nor does he accept anyone as a disciple.   

Some Gurus and Self-declared Godman say:  "I am God." This presupposes that they have the same miraculous and creative powers of God. They do not, however, display the possession of such power. Such is the fallacy of their logic.

Remember:~ 

The Gurus who declare “I am God or “I am Brahman" is merely repeating like parrot words which they have read in the scriptures or heard. It does not prove that they have realized the ultimate truth or God or Brahman. With bookish or hearsay knowledge, it is unable to prove that everything is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. One has to do lots of homework to realize the Soul, the innermost Self. 

A Guru who speaks of knowing Brahman within the body is thinking only of his head or heart, i.e. of his body. He is hallucinating.  

Some religious Gurus give medicinal herbs and cure people, the latter then falls into the fallacy of attributing their cure to the Swami's spiritual power, status, or greatness. Those Gurus may have expert knowledge of herbs, but that does not prove they are Gnanis.  

The stories of non-believers coming to a Guru denouncing him as deceivers, and then suddenly being converted to faith in him are easily explicable. Both attitudes are merely emotional. One emotion succeeded another; it is in the nature of emotion to change. People are emotionally carried off their feet when they first visit a famous Guru. 

Gurus who propagate Samadhi through sexual intercourse are not Gnanis. Sexual intercourse is nothing to do with the Soul, which is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.   Those who indulge in sexual activities in order to get enlightenment will permanently remain in the prison of the dualistic illusion.  They are unfit to acquire Self-knowledge. 

Those Gurus who glorify themselves as God and collect money by promising people instant realization are frauds. Whoever speaks of knowing Brahman within us is thinking only of his body. He is hallucinating about getting instant realization because he is an intellectual. He thinks he has read and understood everything.   The Gurudom is nothing to do with Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

Religious Gurus are concerned with the welfare of humanity to propagate love, peace, harmony, and compassion to the populace.  

Humanity belongs to the dualistic illusion.  Spirituality is beyond the dualistic illusion. Mixing religion and spirituality is like mixing oil and water. Religion is nothing to do with spirituality.   Religion is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. :~Santthosh Kumaar